Bank Can’t Use Facebook for Service of Process — Fortunato v. Chase Bank
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Fortunato v. Chase Bank USA, N.A., 2012 WL 2086950 (S.D.N.Y.; June 7, 2012) [pdf] Fortunato was an apparent victim of identify theft–her estranged daughter allegedly opened up a Chase credit card in her name and racked…
Illinois Supreme Court Says Woman Deceived by Fake Online Relationship Can’t Sue for Misrepresentation -– Bonhomme v. St. James
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Bohomme v. St. James, 2012 IL 112393 (May 24, 2012) Most people take for granted that people aren’t 100% truthful when interacting online. On one end of the spectrum, people make misstatements that are widely acknowledged…
Tea Partiers Wage War Against Each Other Over a Google Groups Account–Kremer v. Tea Party Patriots
By Eric Goldman Kremer v. Tea Party Patriots, Inc., 2012 WL 639134 (Ga. App. Ct. Feb. 29, 2012). The docket. I’m going to exercise extraordinary restraint and not crack any jokes about the Tea Party movement or its adherents. Kremer…
Call for Papers, 2nd Annual Internet Law Work-in-Progress Symposium, NYC, March 24, 2012
By Eric Goldman For more information about this work-in-progress series, you might check out my recap from the inaugural event. This is a wonderful event in a fantastic location with a group of terrific scholars. I am eagerly looking forward…
Recommended Books on Business Decision-Making Using Intellectual Property?
By Eric Goldman I posted the following to the IPProfs email list: I teach the IP Survey course principally as a business law course, i.e., companies are trying to make business decisions, and IP doctrines can help (or hinder) those…
South Dakota S.Ct Recognizes the Obvious: a Happy Birthday Message on Facebook Doesn’t Mean Much — Onnen v. Sioux Falls Independent School Dist.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Onnen v. Sioux Falls Independent School Dist., 2011 S.D. 45 (South Dakota; Aug. 3, 2011) If any modern day communication is more inconsequential than a “happy birthday” post on Facebook, I’m not sure what is. We’ve…
Employee Terminated for Accessing ‘Inappropriate’ Websites not Entitled to Unemployment Benefits — Berglund v. ITI
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Berglund v. Industrial Tech. Institute, No. 298227 (Mich. Ct. App. July 21, 2011) Berglund worked at Industrial Technology Institute and was terminated for “using his computer to access inappropriate websites” (and for printing materials unrelated to…
New Jersey Appeals Court Neuters Cell Phone Driving Statute — State v. Malone
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] State v. Malone, 2011 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1738 (N.J. Ct. App. July 1, 2011) New Jersey’s cell phone driving statute suffered a serious blow at the hands of the New Jersey appeals court, which held…
Regulating Reputational Information Chapter Now Available
By Eric Goldman I have posted my book chapter, The Regulation of Reputational Information, which I published as part of The Next Digital Decade compilation I’ve previously mentioned. I have another version of this chapter coming out later this year…
Private Employers and Employee Facebook Gaffes [Revisited]
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] I posted about a Wall Street Journal article highlighting supposed legal landmines facing private employers who discipline their employees for Facebook gaffes. (“Do Employers Really Tread a Minefield When Firing Employees for Facebook Gaffes?“) I asked…